Spirituality, Meditation. Help!

Ok, So I need some help on this subject, and created this thread not just to help me but to possibly help others who are seeking more info on this subject.

So recently I have alwas been fascinated with meditation, chakra healing, and expanding my conciousness and awareness. But i'm having trouble finding reliable information for a newb like me, I just don't how or where to start.

I don't really know what to look for, their is just so much to choose from. Tantras, Qigong, Yoga, Kundalini, etc, etc. (just TOO many to list).

And honestly it is all just too much to take on, and MOST of the sites out their are just people trying to make money off the naive, and mislead, and just a little to 'New Agey'.

So I know ATS is full of people knowledgable on this subject and who have been at it for awhile. So does anyone know any good books, authors, teachers, websites, etc. Like something that introduces you to the basics and i'm sure I can work my way up from their on my own.

P.S. I don't want anything that has to do with worshipping, sending energy, or anything like that to some god or goddess.

Thanks very much.

[edit on 2/6/2009 by Uniceft17]

[edit on 2/6/2009 by Uniceft17]

[edit on 2/6/2009 by Uniceft17]

May I suggest that you just practice conscious breathing? Assume a lotus postion, if you can, place your hands on your knees, palms upward, and then, Just breathe.
Breathe from your diaphram, try to empty your mind, and just focus. This is the best way to start. You can light a candle and watch the flame. Don't stare at it, just watch it, meditate on the colors and motion of the flame, and just continue to breathe. You'll be amazed at the things that will come to you, the parts of your soul that will be revealed to you.

Search guided meditation on youtube. There is this one asian guy who makes a ton of videos that are really informative.

[edit on 6-2-2009 by Reddupo]

reply to post by Uniceft17

Good evening, Uniceft.
You sound smart enough to avoid obvious for-profit-come-ons, and smart
enough to have ceased watching that aweful television.

I too, still seek that 'place' where all is good, in touch, harmony, etc... Church has always been decent, and good morals, minimal sins to self & others & earth, pay-it-forward good Karma, etc., but still wasn't there.

I'm no expert by any means, but my spirituality has improved just by simply letting go of that desire, and eliminating "want" . . .

Jiu-Jitsu extremely exhausting, but magical...so I still go once a week.

Now, I watch nature alot more closely, as recommended by my Shee-Han.
(Master Instructor). And I mean really dedicate several hours per week to feeding & watching birds, especially Ravens & Hawks. Lots of 'em in the rural loc. where I live. And all the small mammals, chipmonks, squirrels, rabbits, and at night, I stare up at the stars when visible, and once in a while I catch a glimpse of some cats or raccoons or possums scurring about! Most of their vision is based on movement, so I stand very still, and they just do their thing like I'm not there! I have improved, and now see how calm Shee-Han is, when defending, no wasted moves!

I saw a male Cardinal swoop suddenly, only 8 feet away from me, to grab a worm...what a SAVAGE! He tore that thing to pieces and ate it real quick.
I LOVED it! Very satisfying, I guess. And a RedHawk swoop on a mole, like a fighter-jet, then gone! WOW!

And, of course, logging on to ATS late at night, and chiming in, or just reading, and googling topics of interest...

I don't know, keeping it simple, I suppose, ya know? It's your world, you decide what pleases you, let the B.S. go by the wayside, and enjoy life, cause it's SHORT!

FRIGHTENER.

you can experience a million things in your life and not yet have found yourself - and if you believe in reincarnation you can reincarnate and experience again another million things without ever finding out what all that has to do with who you are

we are on earth to experience ourselves - the "self" - that wich is - this realisation comes when all illusion, ideal, projection or expectation of whatsoever has been layed down : then one feels oneself to be and just be and wanting to just be that and be loved for being just oneself - the soul is good and loving and sweet and peacefull : the mind covers it up with the wanting to understand in order to possess and say "this is mine and therefore it is me" and wanting to be loved for what it has been capable to grasp but that leaves the soul feeling lonely and unloved

do try different spiritual approaches/techniques but be aware that they are just material serving for you to find you and in the end only you are left with yourself

we were made to the image of God - so says the bible : therefore when you find yourself you find the one who gives life and you realise that you are one and the same with all as is God one and the same with all

wishing you well on this interior adventure

Originally posted by kettlebellysmith
May I suggest that you just practice conscious breathing? Assume a lotus postion, if you can, place your hands on your knees, palms upward, and then, Just breathe.
Breathe from your diaphram, try to empty your mind, and just focus. This is the best way to start. You can light a candle and watch the flame. Don't stare at it, just watch it, meditate on the colors and motion of the flame, and just continue to breathe. You'll be amazed at the things that will come to you, the parts of your soul that will be revealed to you.

kettlebellysmith - Thank you for posting this info.

Uniceft17 - Thank you for asking for this info. I am feeling the same way. Everyone has a flashy website and buy my book stuff. What kettlebellysmith says is kinda where I am starting.

www.mro.org...

I found this page to be helpful.


It is amazing that after a couple of times doing this, I started longing for it. There are so many distractions that get in my way and the biggest for me is faith in dogma. It has taken several years for me to get that monkey off my back, but it still lingers. The next distraction is the rat race of our society.

I will be watching this thread for more help.

Qigong sounds like it would be my kind of thing, but yet everyday I keep finding something else, I'm thinking about trying a little of everything and taking whatever works for me from it. And I found some good yoga and meditation videos, just go to youtube and type in guided meditation and on the first page scroll down to almost the bottom and their will be this Asian dude on the thumbnail and it's title is "Guided meditation" Someone mentioned it in the thread earlier. But I am having some trouble finding some good sites/videos on Qigong, so some advice/info on that subject would be much appreciated.

Peace.

[edit on 2/6/2009 by Uniceft17]

Part of the process is the search. Finding the information, sorting it and making sense of it and doing that on your own is really important, but sometimes you have to do that by asking others. It's a funny thing, huh?

It helped me to learn the history and cultural background of the different practices out there. There's a lot of overlap and similarities because the religions and practices have some shared sources, and it would probably help you to find it less overwhelming to study the history of it all somewhat. That will also give you a little bit of a critical eye so that you can throw out all the new age fruity crap; this stuff gets *deep* so it's good to know your direction before you go too far, you know?

Like it or not, you are going to brush up against some religious words if you are exploring this because until "The West" and "Science" really start to take this stuff seriously, it's mostly monks who really have a handle on this stuff and a lot of them keep some really wild dogmas.

That said, there is a superfantastic book on qi gong called "the way of qi gong" by Kenneth S. Cohen.
He starts the book with documented research showing how simple breathing meditation helps to heal the body in a lot of surprising ways and then goes on to describe practice in detail.
I'm only about 100 pages into it and read it really sporadically but it is one of the best books I've read about this stuff.

Hope that helped!

Finally found something useful.

For those interested in Qigong, this book explains the basics, body poses, and excersises. Very resourcefull and it's free.

fliiby.com...